The following news article was added to www.red11.org/news on Sat Nov 23 @ 14:17:27 GMT
GREAT DAY FOR FOOTBALL Manchester Utd 5 Newcastle 3 FT: (HT: 3-1) STAT ATTACK 9 Shots On Target 7 2 Shots Off Target 3 14 Fouls (Conceded) 9 6 Corners 1 2 Yellow Cards 2 0 Red Cards Ruud van Nistelrooy's second Manchester United hat-trick gave the Red Devils victory in an eight-goal thriller against Newcastle at Old Trafford. In a staggering contest in which they were never headed, United maintained a 30-year unbeaten home record against the Magpies by returning to the lightening quick attacking style of the past which left their opponents breathless. Van Nistelrooy was given three easy finishes, courtesy of a far post Mikael Silvestre cross and two passes from Diego Forlan which found their way to the Dutchman. Either side of the �18.5million man's three-timer, Paul Scholes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were also on target. Newcastle, woeful at the back, were in fine attacking form themselves, Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy finding the net in the second period after Olivier Bernard's fluke had initially brought the visitors level. As if United did not have enough big-name absentees with Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville all injured and Phil Neville suspended, Juan Veron was also forced to start on the bench after the rigours of a 17-hour return journey from Japan caught up with him. Yet, consciously or otherwise, the lack of a midfield playmaker, plus the presence of Scholes in a central position from the start, freed the home side to play the kind of fluent passing game for which they have been famed. They were aided by the complete absence of Newcastle markers, which allowed Scholes and Ryan Giggs the room they crave. Even Forlan looked likely in attack alongside van Nistelrooy, although the initial bluster failed to bring anything in the way of clear-cut chances and the game went through a lull before Sir Alex Ferguson's side launched their victory charge. Aaron Hughes let his concentration slip when van Nistelrooy ballooned a pass to the right, so when Solskjaer somehow managed to keep it in, he whipped past the Magpies full-back as if he was standing still. Nikos Dabizas desperately tried to plug the gap, leaving a hole behind which Scholes advanced into and once the pull-back found the England midfielder, there was never any doubt that it would be crashed into the roof of the net. It proved the prelude for an incredible seven goals in 30 minutes either side of the half-time break, which left United in total command and Newcastle facing a blur of red shirts they could not stop. Yet, the extravaganza did not come without the home side having to recover from a severe body blow. Lacking in confidence after just one win in six games, what they did not need was Bernard's freak equaliser, an attempted cross which curled in off the far post with Fabien Barthez exposed David Seaman-style. Yet if there were any fears that recent setbacks had curbed the defiant streak for which this United team are renowned, they were quickly dispelled as van Nistelrooy ran riot. They were all simple efforts, the first two of which were engineered by Silvestre, who is in the process of trying to secure a new contract. The French full-back's persistence earned him enough space down the left to cross for van Nistelrooy's first, a back-post header after Hughes had lost his man. Silvestre also laid the pass onto Forlan, whose mis-hit shot rolled neatly into van Nistelrooy's path in stoppage time to give the home side a two-goal lead at the break. Alan Shearer had received his usual cat-calls at a club he twice spurned the chance to join but immediately after the interval smashed home a 30-yard strike from Gary Speed's short free-kick to bring his side back into the contest. That did not last long though as van Nistelrooy quickly bundled home Forlan's cross to complete his hat-trick before Solskjaer added another on United's next foray forward. There was barely time to gasp for air such was the marvellous attacking play on view. Ryan Giggs tried to lob Shay Given after another inspirational Scholes pass before van Nistelrooy and Laurent Blanc were given a rest with the game seemingly won. Yet, if there is one side in the Premiership capable of matching United's capacity for a fightback, it is Sir Bobby Robson's side. On came Nol Solano and, almost immediately, the Magpies had snatched another goal through Craig Bellamy, whose glancing header after United had failed to clear a corner bounced agonisingly beyond Barthez's reach. Jermaine Jenas and Speed both wasted chances to cause panic in the home ranks near the end but Newcastle were unable to 'win 6-5' as their optimistic fans had bellowed. REFEREE: S Dunn Ruud van Nistelrooy hailed his hat-trick: The Dutch striker told Sky Sports 1: "It was fantastic - a great day for football. Everyone enjoyed it very much." Asked what had been missing from United's attacking performances recently, van Nistelrooy said: "It is hard to say sometimes. But it happened for us here and we scored five. "I hope it is a boost and that we can go on from here." He counted his first goal as the best of the three. "The header came after great play. Mikael [Silvestre] crossed and it was a good goal. "It gives us a great confidence with so many big games coming up." Shearer was angered at the nature of his side's defeat and admitted it had taken the shine off his goalscoring milestone. "What you have seen is two very good attacking sides and two very poor defensive sides," he told Sky Sports 1. "It was crazy. You don't expect to defend like that and win. We came here and scored three goals and if someone had said 'you'll score three goals at Old Trafford' we would have snapped their hand off. "We got ourselves back into the game (at 1-1) and gave two crazy goals away. We said at half-time the next goal is important. It went to 3-2 but straightaway they went down the other end and scored and it was another shambles." He added: "It was nice to get the goal at Old Trafford but I would prefer to be on winning side. I can't enjoy it which is annoying." www.sportinglife.com http://www.red11.org/news ------------------------ Yahoo! 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